I am on tour at the moment. It's been an interesting trip thus far. We stopped at the museum in Mariposa, CA, where they play my "Songs of the California Gold Rush" CD in the background all day long. It was a weird experience to hear that when I went into the museum! We got a VIP tour of all the grounds, including the archives for the county records in a temperature-controlled vault, built by the County, for the storage of all the documents, artifacts, and other records. What an incredible room! And they allowed room for expansion, including huge cabinets mounted on rails so they can move across the floor for easier access. Very impressive.
We also visited with one of my second cousins in Sunnyvale, then headed to the campground to relax before tomorrow's presentations I'm giving in Napa. I did some practicing once we set up camp and the folks in the campsite next to us heard me and invited us over to play some more music. They are traveling from their British Columbia home but are natives of Ireland, so we played some Irish music for them and had a lovely visit before it got too chilly and it was time to go fix dinner.
So far, the weather has been perfect and the company exceptional. Both dogs are behaving themselves and there is nothing to complain about!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Happy New Year
Well, it's New Year's Eve and I haven't written in over a week. I can see that I handle blogging as well as I do diary-writing.
Growing up, my typical New Year's Eve involved listening to my favorite radio program on WFMT in Chicago - the Midnight Special. When I lived in Illinois, it was a much-anticipated experience that, when I moved to California, was probably the element of mid-western life that I missed the most! The Midnight Special program plays a variety of selections, primarily folk music, but including show tunes, comedy, farce, and all sorts of things, including live performances, guaranteed to keep a body awake until Midnight ... and beyond (especially on their New Year's Eve edition, which, in my youth, extended until about 5am ... I'd go to sleep with the radio on).
After moving to Calif., I occasionally would be surprised by my brother (still in Illinois), who would record the New Year's program for me, but only the first 2 or 3 hours of it (until he ran out of tape or went to bed, or both). Sometimes I would get those recordings right away, but more often than not, he would send them to me for Christmas the next year! But when the Internet came into my life, I discovered that the Midnight Special was broadcast live on the web! Both their regular Sat. night programs and their once a year event was just a mouse click away ... for a couple of years. Then they made it a "by subscription only" option. This was because they put the live show (well, 2 of the 3 hours of their Sat. version and a little more of the New Year's program) on XM radio. Actually, the Village (the XM station that carries the MS) airs the Sat. night program the following Thurs. and then again on Sat. but last year I discovered, much to my surprise and delight, that they decided to air the New Year's Eve show live! I got to listen to almost all of it! What a delight (especially since the subscription I had to the station was somehow corrupted on my computer).
Well, it's New Year's Eve again, only this year, my beloved Midnight Special is not being aired live on XM because, with the recent merger with Sirius radio, the XM station, the Village, has been pre-empted for a month to play holiday music. It is a very quiet New Year's Eve for me. I understand that, beginning on Jan. 2, the Village will be back on the air and that there will be a "catch-up" of Midnight Special programs. I do hope that it will include the New Year program, even if it's a few days, weeks, or months after our ushering in of 2009. At least it won't be a year later, as it was when my brother taped it for me. Well, I hope not.
Happy New Year.
Growing up, my typical New Year's Eve involved listening to my favorite radio program on WFMT in Chicago - the Midnight Special. When I lived in Illinois, it was a much-anticipated experience that, when I moved to California, was probably the element of mid-western life that I missed the most! The Midnight Special program plays a variety of selections, primarily folk music, but including show tunes, comedy, farce, and all sorts of things, including live performances, guaranteed to keep a body awake until Midnight ... and beyond (especially on their New Year's Eve edition, which, in my youth, extended until about 5am ... I'd go to sleep with the radio on).
After moving to Calif., I occasionally would be surprised by my brother (still in Illinois), who would record the New Year's program for me, but only the first 2 or 3 hours of it (until he ran out of tape or went to bed, or both). Sometimes I would get those recordings right away, but more often than not, he would send them to me for Christmas the next year! But when the Internet came into my life, I discovered that the Midnight Special was broadcast live on the web! Both their regular Sat. night programs and their once a year event was just a mouse click away ... for a couple of years. Then they made it a "by subscription only" option. This was because they put the live show (well, 2 of the 3 hours of their Sat. version and a little more of the New Year's program) on XM radio. Actually, the Village (the XM station that carries the MS) airs the Sat. night program the following Thurs. and then again on Sat. but last year I discovered, much to my surprise and delight, that they decided to air the New Year's Eve show live! I got to listen to almost all of it! What a delight (especially since the subscription I had to the station was somehow corrupted on my computer).
Well, it's New Year's Eve again, only this year, my beloved Midnight Special is not being aired live on XM because, with the recent merger with Sirius radio, the XM station, the Village, has been pre-empted for a month to play holiday music. It is a very quiet New Year's Eve for me. I understand that, beginning on Jan. 2, the Village will be back on the air and that there will be a "catch-up" of Midnight Special programs. I do hope that it will include the New Year program, even if it's a few days, weeks, or months after our ushering in of 2009. At least it won't be a year later, as it was when my brother taped it for me. Well, I hope not.
Happy New Year.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Beware of Dangerous Vegetables
I make a mean turkey soup, and proceeded to do so on Sat. Actually, I fixed our holiday turkey on Friday & froze the meat (this way all the mess of the turkey is out of the way & I don't have to deal with it on Christmas ... besides, I'll need the space and cooking equipment to do the ham!). I then fixed turkey soup on Sat. for a music gathering we had. Everything was going along great until I got to the zucchinis. One of them cut my thumb. No, I don't mean I cut my thumb with a knife while cutting the zucchini; the zucchini cut my thumb (I was washing it with a vegetable brush and my thumb was too close to the surface of the vegetable and peeled some of the skin ... right underneath my thumbnail ... ouch!). Well, I was able to complete the soup making (it was delicious ... and will be for some time as we are freezing about 8 quarts of the stuff), able to play my instruments throughout the evening (it was my right, or picking, thumb), and able to do all the cleanup of everything before going to bed. Then it hit! The pain was incredible and the thumb was officially infected. I'm treating it effectively, but I am still somewhat incapacitated (as far as dexterity in the kitchen and other areas are concerned), so Butch is helping with a lot of that. Hmm, interesting way to get out of doing cooking and baking during the holiday: claim a vegetable attacked me and now I am helpless!
So daughter Sandi and family will arrive tomorrow (Tues) and I have almost everything ready (well, as ready as it's going to be now). When I was a kid, my mother used to bake about 12 different kinds of Christmas cookies (double and triple batches of each) and my grandmother baked stollen. Me? I went to the store and tried to find stollen (good luck! I settled for a streusel cake) and looked at the cookies, but decided that the pies Sandi is bringing and the cheesecake we bought, plus all the leftovers from Sat. night's party, should be enough to satisfy the sweet teeth of everyone! Nevertheless, I do remember a time when I did a lot of holiday baking and really enjoyed it. I just don't have that energy any more. I am grateful for the baked goods that friends, neighbors, and family give us. But after my zucchini incident, I think I will just steer clear of the kitchen as much as possible over the next few days. Sure glad the turkey is done!
Happy holidays!
So daughter Sandi and family will arrive tomorrow (Tues) and I have almost everything ready (well, as ready as it's going to be now). When I was a kid, my mother used to bake about 12 different kinds of Christmas cookies (double and triple batches of each) and my grandmother baked stollen. Me? I went to the store and tried to find stollen (good luck! I settled for a streusel cake) and looked at the cookies, but decided that the pies Sandi is bringing and the cheesecake we bought, plus all the leftovers from Sat. night's party, should be enough to satisfy the sweet teeth of everyone! Nevertheless, I do remember a time when I did a lot of holiday baking and really enjoyed it. I just don't have that energy any more. I am grateful for the baked goods that friends, neighbors, and family give us. But after my zucchini incident, I think I will just steer clear of the kitchen as much as possible over the next few days. Sure glad the turkey is done!
Happy holidays!
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